Defense Minister Israel Katz pushed back against IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir over tensions surrounding the military’s internal investigation into Brig.-Gen. (res.) Oren Solomon on Tuesday, calling Zamir’s response “unnecessary and out of place.”
“The defense minister issues directives to the chief of staff, who is subordinate to the political echelon, as he sees fit,” Katz said. “The chief of staff’s response was unnecessary and out of place.”
His comments came as a response to Zamir, who rejected claims made by Katz regarding the investigation of Solomon, calling them "false and entirely baseless."
“The Chief of Staff does not take instructions through media statements,” Zamir said on Monday. “The claim that the officer is being investigated due to his role in the October 7 inquiries is false and entirely baseless. The officer was summoned for questioning due to suspicions of serious information security violations. The investigation will continue to be conducted professionally and objectively.”
Solomon, a reservist who had conducted a critical review of the IDF’s Gaza Division and other military branches following Hamas’s October 7 surprise assault, was recently summoned by the IDF’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID). The rare public dispute between Katz and Zamir over the decision has drawn attention within the defense establishment.
Earlier on Monday, Katz said he had ordered Solomon to meet with him “as soon as possible” to present the findings of the investigation, which he has yet to formally submit. Katz implied that the officer was being targeted due to critical conclusions he had drawn about the IDF’s senior leadership.
Katz said his directive to examine the circumstances surrounding Solomon’s internal investigation of the IDF’s October 7 failures—along with a letter Solomon sent to Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—had been issued prior to any media reporting. He emphasized that the move was not intended to interfere with the military prosecution’s investigation but rather to address what he described as a matter of “significant public concern.”
“The media discourse around the issue must now stop,” he added. “It will be dealt with through other channels.”
What was the investigation about?
The CID investigation was launched following suspicious findings uncovered by the Southern Command’s Information Security Department during a routine review. Military sources cited in the report said the decision to open a probe stemmed from concerns over a possible serious breach of information security and was unrelated to Solomon’s internal review.
Solomon, who led the post-October 7 investigation while serving in a senior position, disclosed in a letter that the CID had searched his home under court order. In the same letter, he outlined the core conclusions of his report, identifying two key issues: operational failures by the chief of staff, the Operations Directorate, the Air Force, and the Southern Command during the initial hours of the attack and what he described as efforts to conceal or manipulate documentation tied to the events.
“These included restricted access, concealment of documents, and retroactive document writing,” Solomon wrote.
He said he had repeatedly tried to present the findings within the IDF framework: “I asked all along to present the report inside the IDF, to have a genuine process, understand what happened, and most importantly, draw real lessons and implement them so that such events don’t repeat.”
“Unfortunately,” he continued, “I encountered a well-oiled system using rank and authority to silence me and mainly to block the release of the investigation findings within the IDF and outside it.”
He claimed that roughly two weeks ago, his access to the investigation room and computer files was revoked in a coordinated move. “And today, as I mentioned, they came to search my house, and now I’m heading in for questioning,” he wrote.
